Chapters:

The reality of only being eighteen or a little older and
receiving orders to join a company. It held the image and
spectrum of the television image. The company that this person
was joining had the privilege or option of being able to kill or
destroy. Yet still, only could you think this and not fully
comprehend the full scope or meaning. Others would shrug their
shoulders with an air of indifference. They seemed to want to
float above the situation and take it as a fully played out joke.
Under their skin you could see the fear and torment that was
being churned inside themselves. That new found spirit of young
�manhood seem to drive all our real feelings to a suppressed area
of our minds. Maybe then it was just something that went beyond
the human experience. The thoughts of the unknown and the future
were still there in force.

������ The next morning was the same as the previous mornings.
Yet there was a new found excitement in my life. The mystery�of
my being and function in this war was slowly growing to the
blooming stage. We all gathered by the barracks to await the
buses, that were going to take us to the air port. The
temperature was well over a hundred degree mark. The humidity
hung to your clothing. Sometimes it would get you to the point of
frustration. You wanted to jump out of your skin. The buses came
rolling down the road. There was a cloud of dust behind them.
They pulled up next to the side of the road. We gathered our
equipment and boarded the buses. It was in the typical army
fashion of asses in the faces and the armpits all over the place.
Not to mention the knees in the chin. For sure, the army did not
think much for comfort. Then again that wasn't their business.

������ We proceeded back to the air port at a relatively fast
rate of speed. The wind was blowing through the fencing in the
windows. The sun beat down on the roof of the bus with a
magnified intensity. Inside, the fast accumulation of sweat,
began to fill the air with that locker room perfume. Everyone
remained calm and excepted it as just one of the benefits of
their hitch in the army.

������ Soon the bus came to a halt, we were told to disembark
immediately.

page 17

A Sargent presented himself in front of the bus and told us that
we would have to wait for the plane. Again the military was
coming through with shinning colors. The syndrome of rush and
wait was one of the most frustrating parts of military service.
We waited for about twenty minutes. Then a plane taxied over to
where we were�waiting. It was a C - 130 transport that was being
used to transport cargo and personnel in Viet Nam. This aircraft
along with the C-7 and the C-23 did most of the fixed wing travel
in Viet Nam. During the time we were waiting for the plane, each
person had continued that long stretch of sweating that always
persisted. It was comparable to eggs in a frying pan or a steam
room.

����� The aircraft that did the transporting were marvels of the
air age. The person who designed them had all their stuff
together. In the back there was a ramp�type structure, that
allowed the loading and unloading of cargo. The planes themselves
could land and takeoff on short runways. Plus, their maintenance
always seemed to be at a minimum. What you had was an efficient
work horse of the army. In the back there were seats made of
synthetic material, sort of the stuff that beach chairs were made
from.

����� Everyone found their seat and rested their gear before them
by their feet. There were looks and expressions all over the
plane. Each one looked into the eye of the other for a warm look.
Hidden in the back, that fear of the unknown was festering.
Eating at the back of the persons mind, the moment of realizing
that fate was playing out its hand.

���� Soon the plane was ready for takeoff. The pilot had warmed
up the engines and checked out the instruments. Slowly we taxied
toward the runway. There were varying bumps that could be felt
under the wheels of the plane. Sometimes you wondered how these
things could fly. The engines revved up and we were headed for
the open sky. That familiar cushion of air could be felt under
the�plane as we left the ground. Looking out the window the sight
of the blue water could be seen. To the left was the coast line
of Viet Nam.

���� It seemed that we were only air born for about ten minutes,
and we were making our final approach to the runway.��